Woman tells of Burma plane crash

Smoke and flames rising from the scene of an Air Bagan passenger plane crash near Heho airport in Myanmar's eastern Shan state.

AN AUSTRALIAN woman has spoken of her fear she would die during a plane crash in Burma.

Anna Bartsch, 31, of Adelaide, and her boyfriend Stuart Benson, 32, were among five Australians who survived the crash, the ABC reported.

Two people died and 11 were reportedly injured when the plan burst into flames in a rice paddy near the Heho airport on Christmas Day.

Ms Bartsch told ABC flames burst out from the back of the plane and some of the doors would not open. ''That's when I definitely thought, 'I think we're going to die here. I can't see that all of these people are going to get out in time and we're sort of down the back and I reckon this might be it,''' she said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that ''consular officials from the Australian embassy in Yangon have been providing assistance to five Australians who were passengers on a commercial flight that crashed at Heho in Burma's Shan state on 25 December.

''One Australian received medical attention for a minor back injury. The other four Australian passengers were not injured in the crash.

''Two of the five Australian passengers are from South Australia, and the other three from Queensland.''

Burmese officials said two people died, including a motorcyclist who was struck by the plane.

The crash occurred when the Fokker 100 jet attempted to land in heavy fog, its tail breaking and then bursting into flames. The plane landed about three kilometres short of the airport.

Four foreigners - two Americans, a South Korean and a Briton - and the pilot were among the injured.